Aji de Gallina
Creamy shredded chicken in a golden aji amarillo and walnut sauce.
Meat
⚠ Contains: Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Tree Nut. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
How this varies: Some households use pecans instead of walnuts (a common Peruvian-Chinese chifa-influenced substitution) or add a splash of pisco to the sofrito — both are legitimate, well-documented variations.
Ingredients
- 500g chicken breast or thighs, poached and shredded by hand (reserve poaching stock)
- 4 tbsp aji amarillo paste
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 slices white bread, crusts removed, soaked in 1 cup evaporated milk (or whole milk)
- 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans
- 1/2 cup parmesan, grated
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock (reserved poaching liquid)
- 3 tbsp oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Boiled potatoes and white rice, to serve
- Black olives and sliced hard-boiled egg, to garnish
Steps
- Heat oil, sauté onion and garlic until soft and translucent, add aji amarillo paste and cook 3-4 minutes until darkened and fragrant.
- Blend the milk-soaked bread, walnuts, and parmesan together with a little stock into one smooth, silky paste. Stir this into the sofrito along with the remaining stock.
- Simmer 10-15 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce thickens to a creamy, coating consistency.
- Fold in the shredded chicken, season with salt and pepper, and simmer 10 more minutes, loosening with more stock if it gets too thick.
- Serve over sliced boiled potatoes with rice on the side, garnished with black olives and hard-boiled egg.